Inland Empire Paranormal Activity Guide

Some Inland Empire ghost stories and haunted places are born of urban legend. Some have credible beginnings, such as Pomona High School, which stands by the remains of an old cemetery.

Others are created with urban legend and stolen from folklore.

We’ve rounded up some ghostly tales from around the Inland Empire, where some cities have a long history and many old homes. We hope that you’ll tell us about those from your neighborhoods that you know.

Want to exploring yourself? Here is a list of tours and groups that go to reportedly haunted places in the Inland Empire.

The Captain’s Anchorage restaurant has a ghost named George of unknown cause of death who was embezzling money and the bookkeeper of an illegal gambling ring. Bottles have exploded or moved, and women get the feeling of being followed.

BANNING HAUNTED PLACES

The Payless Shoe Source is reportedly haunted by the ghost of a little boy who ran out of the store upset and was hit by a car.

BEAUMONT HAUNTED PLACES

There are many cold spots and unexplained noises in Sunnyslope Cemetery, as well as a ghostly caretaker that disappears when you approach.

COLTON HAUNTED PLACES

La Llorona, or The Weeping Woman, apparently is searching for her children around Agua Mansa Pioneer Cemetery. La Llorona is a prominent figure in Mexican folklore. There is also talk of two ghosts that cause car accidents nearby.

CLAREMONT HAUNTED PLACES

The Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden has a pond where the ghost of a Native American girl can be seen weeping. Cold spots are also felt there.

FONTANA HAUNTED PLACES

Several schools in Fontana report hauntings, usually of a little girl who wants to play. On Foothill Boulevard between Cherry and Citrus, a man in a striped shirt with a dog will cross the road but disappear when cars brake for him.

JOSHUA TREE HAUNTED PLACES

The Joshua Tree Inn is supposedly haunted by the ghost of country music star Gram Parsons, who overdosed there in 1973.

LAKE ARROWHEAD HAUNTED PLACES

Bracken Fern Manor and the Tudor House were both investigated by Ghost Adventures, exploring the underground tunnels used during Prohibition and a woman named Violet who committed suicide in the 1930s. Her perfume lingers when she passes people.

LAKE ELSINORE HAUNTED PLACES

The Lake Elsinore Country Club has several ghosts, including a malevolent young woman who has supposedly been the cause of several demonic possessions.

Guests and employees at the La Quinta Resort have reported sightings, including a man running and screaming.

ONTARIO HAUNTED PLACES

The Granada Theater offers paranormal tours and has a history of lights going on and off, footsteps and ghostly apparitions.

RIALTO HAUNTED PLACES

The old First Christian Church in Rialto held a number or of witnesses seeing a little girl – her ashes had been brought to the church for safe keeping after her ghost was sighted following her death. According to a historian of the local historical society, her ghost has since crossed over but there are other ghosts on the property, including a Victorian woman. He wrote a book entitled “The Little Girl In The Window.”

RIVERSIDE HAUNTED PLACES

The March Field Air Museum and nearby storage hangar are both the scene for many hauntings, especially a building that stands where a farmhouse once stood. A young family died of disease waiting for the father to come back from war. The airplanes are also haunted, especially the big C-41 Starlifter, which carried dead and wounded back from the war, and some who remain are still being treated by the ghostly nurse. We checked it out last year, see our paranormal evidence here.

The Mission Inn is also reportedly haunted, with ghostly orbs drifting in pictures, and cold spots and ghost sightings seen at Frank and Alice Miller’s rooms.

REDLANDS HAUNTED PLACES

Glenn Wallichs Theater at the University of Redlands is haunted by a student named Mary Anne, who died on her way to perform in a play. She will knock down costumes and trip up actresses in rehearsals.

The “House of 1,000 Stairs”-- the Barrage Mansion -- has the ghosts of a nun that died on the property when the building was a convent.

TEMECULA HAUNTED PLACES

The Palomar Inn, dating from the 1920s, has reports of guests hearing men arguing and gunshots.

UPLAND HAUNTED PLACES

Molly’s Souper has had reports of poltergeist activity in the dining room and kitchen.

YERMO HAUNTED PLACES

Calico Ghost Town is the site of many ghosts, from an angry cowboy in Hanks Hotel (which is closed to visitors) to a dog roaming the streets. There are regular ghost tours at the site.